Thanks partim! There is totally enough space if I downsize to a love seat (and probably less chunky chairs) and completely do away with any entry prep space. That's similar to how the original owners had it so it might actually be one of the only other ways to go versus what I have now. My main hesitation with that is that it always felt so cramped squishing everything into that box in front of the fireplace, but I might not be imagining it as others would.

If it is part of a bigger renovation, then I think you are right to look at thisarea in the conext of the rest of the first floor. I would start fromt he outside and work in. The path needs fixing, which should be easy to do. I would be inclined to replace the grass next to the path (on the left at least) with a flower bed so that you have something other than green and stone to look at. Ideally, you'd want to balance the planting so that you have color throughout the season. Given the way the roof overhangs you might need to capture the water from the guttering so that you're not having to water the flower beds yourself. I'd probably put a flower bed on the right also, but that might depend what is out of shot to the right of the picture. I would probably train/trim the shrubs so that they grow up the walls rather than in front of the windows. You might want to consider having the door mat on the porch outside rather than inside the front door. Alternatively, remove some of the tiles and have it set into the floor rather than lying on top of it. Personally I would not put a skylight there, but that is largely because I would not want the bother of having to keep it clean. If you need more light, you could try more glass in the door. I quite like the unit you have on the left opposite the stairs. However, I would question how practical it is. I should have thought hanging space is more useful in an entrance than drawer space. I have reservations about about flat surfaces in the entrance. People have a tendency to put things on them. And I spend my time wandering about the house putting these things back where actually belong.

@Debbi Washburn thank you so much for answering my question about centering the table. It will have all the same flooring etc, as there will be a coffee station on the wall opposite the exterior door that takes up most of the wall with sink, bar fridge, etc. for poolside convenience as well. We have a huge patio out back and the door is the main entrance to our backyard so we need to keep a nice aisle etc. from back door to rest of house. I think we will change out the table for a round one to lighten up all of the rectangles in the space. I think we have room to get a 52" round. We are a family of 5. We will also likely have a working island 6 x almost 3 feet. I know, I know, we have to wait for the KD's plans..but i have a feeling they might be along the same lines. I mean I HOPE they come up with something we haven't thought of that works, but we don't want to move walls either because we LOVE our formal dining room. So I feel like we are kind of limited. (I watch way too much HGTV with all of these massive transformations..LOL).

I do think some of this has to do with your expectations for closet space, too. I think of Patricia's comment that a narrow aisle isn't enough space to choose your clothes--but I don't spend any time in my closet trying things out or even looking at them carefully. They just get plucked off the rack and taken right back out; there's a mirror and room to change in the bedroom. If you prefer having room in the closet to do that, this is not that closet (nor, really, is a 5' wide closet, IMO). My in-laws have, coincidentally, almost the same size and configuration of space that we do and renovated it 25 years ago, reallocating the space between their 1960s-era master bath and closet. They opted to do a 6' wide walk-in closet with a mirror and changing space and a 5.5' wide bath. (We split ours 4'/7.5'.) The tradeoff was that they could only fit a 30" x 30" shower and had to do a bumpout for the vanity to have room (not an option for our home). They felt those were worthwhile tradeoffs, but we made different decisions for our space. It really comes down to what works best for you.